August 28, 2014, ST. LOUIS - Each day at 9 a.m., the executive office at SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital is filled with a representative from each area of the hospital – from nursing floors to facilities – to discuss simply, “what’s going on.”
Around the room’s “Morning Huddle,” nurse managers on each floor give specific details on what they are facing that day with bed availability, staffing, and anticipated admits and discharges. Nurses from the operating room lay out how many cases they have that day and how many add-ons they expect. This opens up discussion on sharing resources if someone needs them.
In twenty minutes the process is wrapped up and from there, everyone walks away with the ultimate status report on “what’s going on.”
“It goes a long way to de-silo problems and helps us see domino pieces line up,” says Russ Schroeder, RN, MSN, chief nursing officer at SLU Hospital. “It’s such a small investment in time and for all of us, it decreases time we spent dealing on other issues simply because we communicate more effectively.”
The idea for a “Morning Huddle” was brought over from fellow SSM Health Healthcare hospital Detroit Medical Center in mid-May. By incorporating the huddle into daily practice, they opened communication where managers at every level of the hospital knew patient flow and events impacting the hospital over the next 24-48 hours.
The timing of implementing a huddle each morning at SLU Hospital coincided with a spike in volumes that has continued for several weeks.
“With the change in our census pattern, we’re getting this tool right when we desperately need it,” says Schroeder, who opens each huddle with a “great catch” – an example of a patient save from the previous day.
“We do great things here every day,” he says. “Things that are a big deal to other hospitals happen here every day and recognizing those great catches is important.”
